Grave Descend by Michael Crichton

Author:Michael Crichton [Crichton, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-4532-9929-6
Publisher: Open Road Media

PART II Dark Swamp

Being in a ship is being in jail, with the chance of being drowned.

SAMUEL JOHNSON

9

INSPECTOR BURNHAM HAD A SMALL office decorated by a cheap desk, a rickety chair, a small desk lamp, and a noisy fly which buzzed around the room as they talked.

Inspector Burnham was newly trained at the police academy in Kingston. He was very thorough and conscientious. There was a half-hour spent with forms before he began with his questions. He asked McGregor to begin at the beginning, and McGregor did, relating his meeting with Wayne at the Plantation Inn. Occasionally, Burnham would interrupt with a question.

“Who is the owner of the Grave Descend?”

“A man named Robert Wayne. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”

“We can check on that,” Burnham said, writing it down. “Go on.”

Some time later Burnham again interrupted.

“What exactly was the nature of this sculpture?”

“I don’t know, except that it was put aboard in Naples. And it was modern and heavy.”

“Naples?”

“That was the last port of call before West Palm.”

“Then the sculpture is Italian?”

“I assume so, but I don’t know.”

“How large is it?”

“You’d have to ask Wayne. I never saw it.”

“You didn’t find it when you dove?”

“No.”

“That’s difficult to believe.”

McGregor shrugged. “Go look for yourself.”

Burnham smiled thinly. “I think not” He paused to light a cigarette. “How is your Italian history?”

“I’ve heard of Garibaldi.”

“More recently than that,” Burnham said.

“Mussolini? I’ve heard of him, too.”

“What have you heard?”

“He ran a police state,” McGregor said.

Burnham made a clucking sound. “Don’t be nasty.”

“Ask your question.”

“I am curious to know if you have heard of Trevo.”

“No.”

“It is a town in Sicily.”

McGregor shook his head. “No bells.”

“A battle was fought there. During the Second World War. A rather large German detachment was wiped out by Italian partisans. The reprisals were fierce.”

“And?”

Burnham shrugged. “Just wondered if you might have heard of it.”

“No,” McGregor said. “And if you’re through with your questions—”

“Not entirely,” Burnham said. “You see, you are a difficult man for us. You have broken section 423 of the Jamaican Maritime Code relating to salvage of vessels not having passed customs. The Code has never been broken before; the police have always been sufficiently alert to prevent what you have, in fact, done—boarded a sunken vessel and removed ship’s articles in unauthorized fashion.”

“Embarrassing,” McGregor said. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing,” Burnham said. “For the moment. Later, we may …”

“Think of something?”

“Yes. Think of something.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” McGregor said. “But meantime you may want a statement from Wayne, who was bashed over the head while the safe was being lifted. That might be a nice place for you to begin—”

The telephone rang. Burnham spoke briefly, his face darkening. When he hung up, he said, “It appears Mr. Wayne has no statement for us. The officer interviewing him says he denies any knowledge of a robbery. He says his cut was an accident. He says he stumbled while climbing into your truck.”

“Isn’t that interesting.”

“He also says that no safe was removed from the ship. No article of any kind.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.